The present invention relates generally to a graphical object oriented business process modeling environment and more specifically to such an environment in which interacting components representing business processes can be created, manipulated, tested, deployed, and executed in a flexible manner.
It is well known to automate various business systems, such as Customer Relations Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), accounting, inventory control, order processing and the like. Historically, such systems were each handled by dedicated software packages that did not integrate well with each other. Early software programs for automating business systems were designed to run independently, with no interaction between various systems. Such programs were custom built for a specific need being addressed and often utilized proprietary protocols. Dedicated “point to point” connections were developed to permit each such system to communicate with another such system. For example, an inventory control system may exchange data with an accounting system through a customized software interface. However, as the number of systems increases, the quantity and complexity of point to point connections also increase. Further, point to point connections are rather inflexible and do not facilitate reconfigurations of systems to accommodate changing business models.
The concept of “Enterprise Application Integration” (EAI) refers to the sharing of data throughout applications and data sources in an organization. As enterprises grow and require increased flexibility of data sharing throughout various systems, EAI is used to streamline processes and keep all the elements of the enterprise interconnected. EAI can include database linking, application linking, and data warehousing.
Various systems for accomplishing EAI are well known. For example, Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), in which a common set of services are exposed by different layers, are known. Also, Event Oriented Architectures (EOA) in which a publish/subscribe messaging system is used to change the states of activities based on events, is known. Further, standard connectivity protocols and message formats such as Remote Method Invocation (RMI) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) have been established to facilitate EAI.
The concept of “value chains,” i.e., a series of business activities that create value, has become a useful paradigm for analyzing and improving the efficiency of businesses. Such activities include business processes, such as order entry, shipping, invoicing, CRM, and the like. Value chains are dependent on the internal business processes of a company, the business processes of trading partners, such as suppliers, and the relationship between the company and trading partners. It has become popular to experiment with and change value chains to optimize efficiency and profitability. Such change requires reconfiguration of business processes and the integration therebetween. EAI has facilitated such reconfiguration of business systems.
It is also known to provide an object oriented environment for modeling and configuring the above-described integration of various applications in a graphical manner to further facilitate configuration and reconfiguration of business systems. For example, the BusinessWare™ modeling environment sold by Vitria™ Technology, Inc. permits modeling of the integration of applications in a graphical manner by using “business process models,” a technique becoming known as “business process management” (BPM).
Of course, a business process must communicate with other business processes to enable end to end integration. Therefore, creation of a business process requires knowledge of the identity of the business process(es) to which it will be connected and what messages can be received from and sent to these processes. In other words, the application designer must be concerned with business processes and the communication therebetween at the same level of abstraction.
Of course, it is known to control various business applications, and to create, deploy, and debug business process models. However, due to the complexities of communication between applications, and components, all of these phases are accomplished at different levels of abstraction by separate software tools. For example Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools, such as Rational Rose™ and ARIS™, provide analysis and documentation of business processes and the integration thereof. However, the flow charts and other diagrams created by CASE tools are not intended to be directly executed. Separate tools must be used to create executable models and deploy such models. Accordingly, it is difficult to develop, deploy, and debug business process management systems because of a lack of unified tools.